In some speaking exams you have to talk about photos

or pictures. Watch two students doing this task at

http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/exams/exam-

speaking/describe-photo-picture. The tips below will

help you to do really well in this type of speaking exam.

Here are our top tips for describing a photo or a picture.

Do:

Look at your picture carefully and take a few moments to think before you start talking.

Talk for all the time you are given. If you have one minute to do the task, use every second.

Practise the useful language below so you can explain which part of the picture you are talking

about.

Don’t:

Panic if you don’t know the words for all the things in the picture. You don’t need to know all the

words for everything in the picture if you know what to say when you don’t know an exact word.

Get distracted and start talking about something else. Focus on the photo or picture.

Panic if your mind goes blank. Take a deep breath, look at the picture and start again.

If you are asked to describe a photo or a picture in the exam, here is some language you can use:

What is in the picture? In the picture I can see ...

There’s / There are ...

There isn’t a ... / There aren’t any ...

Say what is happening with the present

continuous

The man is ...ing

The people are ...ing

It’s raining.

Where in the picture? At the top/bottom of the picture ...

In the middle of the picture ...

On the left/right of the picture ...

next to

in front of

behind

near

on top of

under

If something isn’t clear It looks like a ...

It might be a ...

He could be ...ing

Maybe it’s a ...

Exam speaking: Describe a photo or picture – tips